The lower grade children occasionally forget their hats either at home in the morning or at the school "Children's Club" where they will wait for their parents to pick them up after school hours.
"Where's your hat?"
"I left it at Children's Club yesterday."
"Please track it down and wear it tomorrow."
But with the upper grades... especially the upper grade girls, that hat is juvenile and dorky. They don't like the hats because it messes up their hairstyle. It is difficult to make an grade school hat look fashionable.
"Where's your hat?"
"Who knows."
"Please track it down and wear it tomorrow."
"Whatever."
Some years I have tattled on a delinquent 6th grader.
"So-and-so has stopped wearing her hat."
That made me the enemy for the rest of the year with THAT child. She grudgingly wore her hat but never looked me in the eye again!
So I hint... If I have a chance to speak with the teacher I'll GENERALLY mention that hats are being "forgotten" more and more. No enemies yet.
One 6th grade girl this year only plops her hat on her head when she reaches the crosswalk, just so that I don't nag her. It makes the point of wearing the yellow hat moot (to be more noticeable to cars) and besides the younger children look at her and figure that when their time comes they'll stop wearing their hats too...
"Where's your hat?"
Plop it on the head... it falls off because the elastic is broken.
"H-chan... Why don't you leave your hat with me? I'll put some new elastic on it for you and get it back to you before school lets out today."
"You'd do that for me?"
"Sure. You really need to wear your hat and it can't be easy if it keeps falling off."
Well, I tried.
You look adorable!
ReplyDeleteI remember when my friends and I had teenagers an older woman told us that it was important for teenagers to have a point of rebellion. Hat/no hat instead of tat/no tat or something riskier. There should be some small, safe conflict which they might win to assert their developing maturity. It is important for the rule makers to perhaps lose but not go down without a fight. So she said. Don't worry that you won this round; there will be other matches to come for this student.
ReplyDeletePS I think your hat is quite becoming, and the whole effect of your uniform is calming and reassuring.
ReplyDeleteIf the children were to wear a full uniform, then the hat is no issue. Our local primary and junior high schools have the most unbecoming uniforms and the children don't seem to mind as EVERYONE has to wear them. You simply can't go to school not wearing your uniform.
ReplyDeleteWe only had hats to wear in primary school. We were not fashion conscious at that time like now a days but hated wearing them when we got older. One reason was they were bit too small, old and dirty but parents didn't dare to buy new one just for one or two more year. And of course they didn't fit and looked silly. Boys had a choice to make them dirty and cool but not for girls.
ReplyDeleteLovely uniform you have on there!
I remember trying to find a hat small enough for my first daughter that would look like the school hats. If they really need those hats, maybe the school should let the kids vote on a design they like and would wear.
ReplyDelete